


always be okay

by narumitsu



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Family Bonding, Gen, Krolia loves her son, Mother-Son Relationship, No proofreading we die like mne, Post-Season/Series 06, hhh i couldn't think of a better title oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-21 03:31:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15548649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narumitsu/pseuds/narumitsu
Summary: It was only then that Keith actually realized he'd never called her "mom" before.  He somehow felt embarrassed about the idea of calling his mom anything other than just "Krolia".And because he definitely hadn't planned on calling her that, he had never even asked her if he could.





	always be okay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [August_Flower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/August_Flower/gifts).



> this was partially my girlfriend's idea fkjdfg i may be cutting it close but i HAD to post it before season 7. we were talking about how keith kept calling krolia by her name even after their 2 year mission and what would get him to call her mom and i just had to do something with it!

Keith stood underneath the red and purple sunset of a mysterious planet, one that he wouldn't be allowed to stay on for long but that he appreciated the beauty of nonetheless. This place was simply another stop on Team Voltron's way back to earth, and he hadn't even thought to ask what its name was, but taking just one look around showed that the area was filled with lush forests of soft-looking, greenish-blue trees and grass as far as you could see. Birds, or at least an alien species of animals that just happened to resemble birds, chirped in the distance and Keith felt a sense of serenity telling him that, under different circumstances, he probably wouldn't mind staying here for a little while.

Unfortunately, however, currently he knew that he and the rest of the team would have to leave this place the minute they finished doing everything they'd come for. As soon as everyone was done with their supply runs and information gathering and whatever else it was they were up to, they'd all have to take off and go back to the tedium of floating through the deep reaches of space—tedium which was only broken by the fact that sometimes they'd run into enemies of the coalition and have to fight—and the uncertainty of what could be waiting for them back on earth, for who knows how long before there'd be another chance to take a break.

So that was why Keith, instead of rushing things like he might normally try to do, was taking his sweet time with his own work: fixing up a portable food goo machine that Coran had somehow managed to break into pieces shortly after purchasing it. It was actually a lot easier than it looked, but he was hoping that he could be the last one to finish his task—not by far, of course, because he knew it would be wrong to purposely delay everyone too much when their mission was so incredibly important, but just enough to spend a few extra minutes on this peaceful planet before he had to face the unpredictability of the universe once again.

That was why he carried the food goo machine outdoors to work on it in the first place. Why every few minutes he'd stop to rub behind the ears of his pet space wolf, Cosmo, and feed him a small treat or toss a stick for him to fetch. Or pause and just run his hands across whatever tool or machine part he was holding at the time, enjoying the sensory feeling he got from touching cool metal to his skin. Or put everything down in order to pointlessly pace around the nearby area. Or, as he'd chosen to do at the moment, he’d pick up screws and nails and gears and just twirl them around in his hands because, again, he liked the way it felt.

Keith dropped the random knickknacks he'd been fiddling with back into the toolbox and continued working. After a bit longer, he finally managed to get the last of the broken-off panels from the front of the machine reattached, so he leaned against the workbench and wiped the sweat off his brow.

He turned around and observed how full of color and life the planet really was. He could see small white flowers poking through parts of the grass and dotting the landscape. The birds continued to sing their songs, and he spotted butterfly-like creatures flying alongside them. He saw a world that could almost be earth if the foliage wasn’t such a bluish shade and if there didn't seem to be two suns in the sky.

And when he looked behind him out of curiosity as to if anyone else was on their way back yet, he saw the distinct figure of his mother Krolia heading his way. 

"Keith!" she called, "Do you need any help with that food goo machine?"

"Actually, yeah. These levers that go on the front, can you help me put them back on?"

Krolia nodded and moved to the side opposite of Keith, taking a lever and a screwdriver and carefully looking over the progress that had been made so far.

"Did you _really_ fix all of this yourself?" she asked. "After the state Coran left it in?"

Keith shrugged. "Well, yeah. Pidge and Hunk are the usual mechanics, but they're both busy, so..."

"So?"

"...Shiro and his boyfriend know how to do stuff like this," he admitted after a brief moment of hesitation. "They taught me a few years back."

"Then they taught you well. I'm impressed."

Keith smiled slightly but said nothing, not knowing how to respond to her compliment. There was a time when he might've frowned at her offer to help and said no, he could handle it himself. A time when he might've ignored her questions and pushed her away like he used to do with everyone else. But now wasn't that time. Now he fully trusted her and was honestly glad she was there right now—as much as he liked the quiet, having only Cosmo around was getting a little lonely.

The two of them worked together mostly in silence, both too focused on the task at hand to really say anything and only stopping when Cosmo started begging for attention.

Keith grabbed a fallen gear from inside the back of the food goo machine and struggled with fastening it back in its place, before realizing he didn't have the proper tool for it.

"Hey, mom," he said, "can you—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Krolia suddenly stop what she was doing. He heard her gasp, barely audible but still enough for him to pick up on it. They made eye contact and he saw her stunned expression for maybe a second or two before having to avert his eyes and awkwardly turn his attention to the small metal gear in his hand, noticing the way the light made its silver color shine. When he processed what exactly he'd said that surprised her, he froze in his spot.

"I—uh—sorry, Krolia—I mean—"

It was only then that Keith actually realized he'd never called her "mom" before. Sure, he'd asked her "you're my mom?" when they'd first encountered each other in the Blades, but that wasn't the same thing. It was part of a question to someone he might as well have just met earlier that day, not a way of naturally and casually referring to her. And every time afterward, even during the full two years they spent together on the back of that space whale trying to catch up on the lifetime of mother-son bonding they'd lost the opportunity to have in the past, he somehow continued to feel embarrassed about the idea of calling his mom anything other than just "Krolia".

 And because he definitely hadn't planned on calling her that, he had never even asked her if he _could_.

 "I mean, is—is that... okay?" He asked, trying and failing not to stumble over his words. "Calling you—calling you mom, that is. I didn't... ask or anything, so... if you don't want me to, I can... just..."

 The words trailed off into a mumble and Keith ended with a quiet "sorry", refusing to take his eyes off the gear as he turned it back and forth to distract himself from having to look at Krolia.

"Keith, look at me, please," she said softly.

Hesitantly, he brought his eyes back up to hers. He saw warmth in them that was rivaled only by the glow of this planet's suns, combined with a kind smile. Keith was already familiar with that look, because she often got it just before she'd go in to hug him, so he prepared himself for the possibility that she was about to now as well. Even though she was his mother, he still liked to be prepared before _anyone_ tried to hug him—getting caught off guard usually meant he would make it awkward by having no clue what to do with himself.

Luckily, Keith had come to know Krolia by now. He'd found the mother he used to believe had abandoned him never to return, and he'd been given the gift of getting to know her so well that he wasn't surprised when she gently put her arms around him.

"It will _always_ be okay to call me mom," she said, her voice beginning to break, "because you'll always be my son."

Keith didn't even have a hard time hugging her back. Her embrace made him feel comfortable, safe. Like he was being reassured that she'd always be there.

"Now, what were you going to ask me before?" Krolia asked as they both pulled away from the hug.

"Oh, I just—I wondered if you could hand me a wrench."

"Of course, Keith," she said, holding one out to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks, mom."

A small grin spread onto Keith's face.  _Mom_. He was calling Krolia "mom", and he liked the way it sounded—it felt natural and _right_.

He'd have to get used to always saying it.


End file.
